The leaders of Israel’s four Palestinian political parties signed a document Thursday pledging to work towards reestablishing the “Joint List” bloc and to contest the next parliamentary elections on a unified slate.
The pledge was signed during a meeting in the Palestinian municipality of Sakhnin in northern Israel, shortly after a large public demonstration in the city protesting the surge in crime within the Palestinian community in Israel, accusing the government of ignoring to address the issue.
The Palestinian affairs website Arab 48 said the move came in response to growing public pressure calling for unified Arab political representation in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. The document was titled “Joint List Now,” according to the report.
The signatories were Sami Abu Shehadeh, head of the National Democratic Assembly (Balad); Ayman Odeh, leader of the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash); Ahmad Tibi, head of the Arab Movement for Change (Ta’al) party; and Mansour Abbas, head of the United Arab List (Ra’am).
The consultative meeting that followed the demonstration discussed political and protest strategies for the coming period amid repeated accusations that Israeli police have failed, or shown complicity, in addressing organised crime in Palestinian towns, the report said.
Palestinian citizens of Israel make up more than 20 percent of the country’s population of about 10 million.
In the current Israeli parliament, which was elected on November 1, 2022, Palestinian citizens are represented by only two lists after Arab parties ran separately. Ra’am won five seats, while the Hadash–Ta’al alliance also secured five seats. Balad failed to pass the electoral threshold and did not win any seats.
As a result, Palestinian representation in the 120-member Knesset stands at 10 seats, a share lower than the proportion of Palestinian citizens in Israel.
